Electrostatic copying apparatus with cooling system

Claim 1

In an electrostatic copying apparatus comprising a housing, a rotary drum mounted rotatably within the housing and having a photosensitive member on at least a part of its peripheral surface, an original-support mechanism disposed on the top surface of the housing and including a transparent plate on which to place an original document to be copied, a charging corona-discharge device for applying corona discharge to the photosensitive member in a latent electrostatic image-forming zone located along the peripheral surface of the rotary drum, an optical unit disposed above the rotary drum within the housing for projecting the image of the original document placed on the transparent plate onto the photosensitive member in the latent electrostatic image-forming zone, a copying paper transfer unit for transferring a copying paper through a transfer passage which extends from one end portion of the housing to its other end in the lower portion of the housing through a transfer zone located below the rotary drum, along the peripheral surface of the rotary drum and downstream of the latent electrostatic image-forming zone viewed in the rotating direction of the rotary drum, and a fixing mechanism disposed downstream of the transfer zone within the transfer passage and having an electric heater; the improvement wherein a partitioning wall dividing the inside of the housing into an upper portion having the optical unit and a lower portion having the fixing mechanism is disposed at that part of the housing which is on the side of said other end at least from the rotary drum, and said other portion of the housing has provided therein a first fan located within said upper portion and drivingly connected to a main electric motor drivingly connected to the rotary drum and a second fan located bridging the said upper and lower portions and drivingly connected to another auxiliary motor and adapted to discharge the air in said upper and lower portions from said other end of the housing, whereby when a main switch of the electrostatic copying apparatus is closed, supply of an electric current to the electric heater of the fixing mechanism can be started and simultaneously an electric current is supplied to the auxiliary motor, and when the copying process is actually started after the closing of the main switch, supply of an electric current to the main electric motor is started.